Avid bingers can definitely relate to the “just one more episode” ghost that haunts us and steals our sleep, even on weekdays. I am sure there are a few who have also taken a “sick leave” under its influence just to complete the whole series from start to finish.
But what if the viewers got to decide where a story begins and ends? Netflix gave it a try in 2023 and created an 8-episode series about a heist that spans almost 25 years. While it garnered mixed reactions, the internet is still buzzing about its absolutely unique structure!
Back in 2023, Netflix dropped an unusually structured series called Kaleidoscope that drew mixed reactions from viewers
Glenn Carstens-Peters / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The beauty of the series is that viewers can watch the 8 episodes in any order, yet make perfect sense of the story
On January 1, 2023, Netflix dropped Kaleidoscope, a crime thriller that explored an immersive, non-linear streaming experience for viewers. Apparently, you can watch the 8 episodes in any order you prefer, and it will still make sense. The only change will be how you actually perceive the story.
The series stars some big names, including Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito, along with Paz Vega, Rufus Sewell, Tati Gabrielle, Peter Mark Kendall, Rosaline Elbay, Jai Courtney, Niousha Noor, Jordan Mendoza, Soojeong Son and Hemky Madera. Believe it or not, but the story was inspired by true events that unfolded in 2012.
Its creator Eric Garcia stated, “After Hurricane Sandy, $70 billion worth of bonds got flooded in the basement of the DTCC, which is a large clearing effort that’s owned by a bunch of the big banks. To my mind, I was like, ‘Well, that’s a perfect cover-up for a heist!’”
Thibault Penin / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
This heist drama follows a group of thieves with various personalities who plan to steal $7 billion from a vault, but greed and betrayal get in their way. Since the episodes don’t have a chronology, they are named after colors: Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange, Violet, Red, Pink, and the finale, White.
These are the colors generally seen in a kaleidoscope. However, executive producer Russell Fine explained in an interview, “If you take each episode as a color, when they combine together, all those colors make white.”
The heist drama full of greed, betrayal, and deceit follows a criminal group that attempts to rob $7 billion from a vault
While there is no chronology, viewers can check out this order if they are sticklers for a timeline:
- Violet: 24 years before the heist
- Green: 7 years before the heist
- Yellow: 6 weeks before the heist
- Orange: 3 weeks before the heist
- Blue: 5 days before the heist
- White: The heist
- Red: The morning after the heist
- Pink: 6 months after the heist
Actually, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch was the show that really put interactive TV on the map. Viewers really got to call the shots. You could decide what the main character did next, whether it was something like entering a room or walking out of the house. Every choice changed the script and sent you down a new path. Kaleidoscope works similarly, giving you different narrative roads to explore.
Each episode contains answers to questions from another episode, and the order in which it’s viewed changes its perception
Despite its unusual structure, the series received mixed reactions, from “brilliant” and “mediocre” to even “waste of time.” In fact, it just got a 45% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, that has not stopped it from racking up quite a following in the last 3 years since its release.
In fact, fans have come up with alternate viewing orders depending on whether you want to watch it as a detective story or a classic mystery. What about you? If you watched it, which order did you follow and what did you think about the series? We would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to type away in the comments below!
Viewers were divided after watching the series, as some liked it, while others heavily criticized it as being “mediocre” and a “drag”
